Chapter 51: Heavenly Thunder Defense

It was still intent on attacking another enemy when Zeng Feixiong, with a swift stroke of his blade, lopped off half its head, causing the heroic spirit to finally turn to dust.

Faced with such a formidable foe, the Blackwater City army lost their will to fight and quickly retreated. After all, they were ordered to explore, not to engage in a deathmatch.

He Chunhua calculated that even if he could win, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. What’s more, the enemy leader still looked incredibly vigorous and seemed capable of fighting another twenty or thirty people without breaking a sweat!

Sun Fuping seemed to sense his worry. "Don't worry," he said, "as long as you tap into the national fortune, you can hold out for a long time."

By this time, Zeng Feixiong had led the remaining troops back into the formation. His left arm had been slashed, almost completely severed, yet he seemed oblivious to the injury. He focused only on raising his blade to the sky and shouting, "Work together with one heart, protect our Great Yuan!"

Everyone roared together, "Work together with one heart, protect our Great Yuan!"

The beast-headed staff immediately glowed with intense light.

The light was a pale green with a hint of gold, but it caused the surrounding vengeful spirits to cease their pursuit and shield their eyes, as if the radiance was blinding. Even their mounts became restless, shaking their heads, swishing their tails, and pawing at the ground.

This was the national fortune, activated by the Imperial Preceptor, that was affixed to He Chunhua's Yuan coins!

This was the confidence and consensus forged from the vitality of all living people in Qiansong Commandery, which then merged with and empowered the morale of Zeng Feixiong and the other commandery soldiers, instantly transforming into a mighty and awe-inspiring righteous energy!

If those dozen-plus opponents had been ordinary vengeful spirits instead of heroic spirits who had fought a hundred battles in life, they would have been instantly annihilated by the light.

Zeng Feixiong turned and barked at Situ Han, "Why aren't you shouting?"

Situ Han was startled. "Me? Us too?"

"You've been incorporated into the Blackwater City Defense Army," Zeng Feixiong declared. "You are now one with us, no longer desert bandits or rogues!"

So their incorporation was serious after all! Since it was a moment of life and death, Situ Han turned and gave an order, and his subordinates joined the main force in shouting the slogan.

With the addition of these dozens of men, the quantitative change finally triggered a qualitative one.

The monstrous figure on the staff gathered its light and then let out a sudden roar towards the sky.

A shimmering green orb of light flew out of its mouth. Swaying in the wind, it grew into a magnificent green bird over five zhang tall, with a high crest, splendid tail feathers, and an elegant physique.

It circled once above everyone's heads before ascending into the clouds.

This was the guardian beast, the namesake of Great Yuan.

Of course, the Azure Yuan's true form was still guarding the capital; what appeared here was merely a manifestation of the national fortune.

As it disappeared into the clouds, the dense grey clouds filling the sky immediately churned into a vortex. Inside, lightning bolts danced wildly, and countless blue and purple lights flickered within the cloud mass.

At this time, many vengeful spirits were still hovering in mid-air. Seeing this, they scattered and fled, like a school of fish pursued by a great white shark.

Just a few breaths later, a thick bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, precisely hitting the core of the rune formation.

Lightning snaked along the formation drawn by Sun Fuping. If viewed from above, the entire formation glowed with a bright silver light.

This series of changes is complex to describe but, in reality, unfolded in mere dozens of breaths.

Faced with such a display, the Great Wind army soldiers, now heroic spirits, finally showed fear and retreated repeatedly.

In life, they had witnessed countless strange abilities and mystical arts, but in death, they most revered the might of heaven.

After all, they were now spirits.

The commander tilted his head, and immediately a cavalryman charged forward.

As soon as the horse's hooves touched the rune formation, there was a flash of lightning, and the rider and horse vanished into thin air.

The commander seemed unconvinced and again threw his eighteen-foot long spear like a javelin.

With an electric crack, the long spear penetrated less than a foot into the formation before silently dissolving.

This was the heavenly lightning defense summoned by Sun Fuping using the State Altar Token. The stronger the national fortune attached to the State Altar Token, the greater the power of the formation.

The power of one commandery should be sufficient to counter a mere dozen heroic spirits.

"Governor He, I'll leave this to you here," Sun Fuping said, patting He Chunhua's shoulder, then turned and walked towards the pool's edge.

"Wait!" He Chunhua exclaimed, seeing him about to slip away. "I'll go with you!"

"You cannot go," Sun Fuping replied, pointing to the staff standing in the formation. "The State Altar Token will become ineffective if it leaves its master by a hundred zhang. I need every one of you to hold the line here, to prevent the vengeful spirits from pursuing us into the pool."

Only then did everyone notice that the old man had swiftly and deftly included the entire pool within the heavenly lightning defense formation. As long as the formation remained, the vengeful spirits couldn't return to the pool.

The Imperial Preceptor intended to enter and retrieve the treasure himself, but he wanted them to guard the 'gate' here. He Chunhua's face darkened slightly, but he knew that Sun Fuping had brought so many people precisely for this purpose, yet—

"I will look after your son," Sun Fuping assured him, in a hurry. "You and your son will soon be reunited, rest assured!" With that, he quickly jumped into the pool.

With a splash, he vanished. Only a candle was left discarded at the pool's edge, its flame still flickering faintly.

Situ Han said indignantly, "That old man is using us!"

He Chunhua's expression shifted. Suddenly, he called Zeng Feixiong forward. "Take a few men to help Chuan'er," he instructed.

Although He Lingchuan had long been a lucky general, he was alone in an unpredictable place, and both Nian and Sun harbored malicious intentions. As a father, He Chunhua was truly uneasy.

Zeng Feixiong acknowledged, quickly selected five men, and leaped into the pool.

He Chunhua stared at the pool water, knowing he had been outmaneuvered again. Sun Fuping had intentionally left him and the Blackwater City army outside—an open scheme to resist the attacks of the Great Wind army's heroic spirits, ensuring his hundred-plus men couldn't enter the blood pool.

But when he withdrew his gaze, he was slightly startled. "How is one of the Great Wind army souls missing?" he wondered.

Situ Han replied, "While you were speaking with the Imperial Preceptor, one wisp escaped."

He Chunhua inwardly thought this was bad, but he still had to rally his spirits and encourage everyone. "No matter how powerful the Great Wind army was in life," he declared, "they are now spirits, not tolerated by heaven and earth, and limited by divine arts and spells! As long as we remain calm and unwavering, the heavenly lightning defense will be an impenetrable fortress!"

The army's morale stemmed from confidence; for the State Altar Token to remain effective, he had to work hard to boost morale.

Everyone had witnessed the power of the heavenly lightning, and their minds settled. Consequently, the beast-headed staff's light grew even brighter.

But just then, Situ Han pointed to the horizon and exclaimed, "What's that?"

The night was pitch black, and the lightning and thunder in the clouds had disappeared, but the western sky was flashing with an unusual red light.

The light grew closer.

He Chunhua also saw clearly, his expression changing. "It's reinforcements," he said. "That wisp of heroic spirit just now went to find reinforcements."

What was with these Great Wind army souls? They didn't lose their sentience like other vengeful spirits. Not only could they figure out how to harm living bodies, but they also knew how to call for help.

This was troublesome. He Chunhua couldn't help but gasp. A new wave of Great Wind army souls was approaching fiercely!

He Lingchuan was also greatly startled when he fell into the water.

He wanted to swim back, but his body was unable to move, and an inexplicable suction force relentlessly dragged him downward.

The light in the dark red water was dim, and even with his eyes open, he couldn't see far.